Parents deem rewards program exclusive, unfair

Monday

Aug 5, 2013 at 10:33 PM

Some local parents are calling a Mulberry Elementary School program that rewards high-performing students an unfair invasion of privacy, but school officials maintain it's an incentive for academic success.

Sydni DunnStaff Writer

Some local parents are calling a Mulberry Elementary School program that rewards high-performing students an unfair invasion of privacy, but school officials maintain it's an incentive for academic success.Students who scored an Advanced or Mastery, or improved by a level from the previous year, such as from Approaching Basic to Basic, on the iLEAP and LEAP annual assessment tests will be allowed “free dress” for the first month of school, according to the Mulberry Elementary Parent Teacher Club. The students who did not land in those top categories or improve their score will be left sporting their traditional khaki and navy uniforms.It's one of the many ways schools reward students for their performance, said Assistant Superintendent Carol Davis. Schools come up with their own incentives, she said. Some throw pizza parties or hand out trophies for high performance, and others, like Mulberry, allow students “dress down” days, where they can wear casual, school-appropriate clothing instead of their uniform.“It's been in place for long time,” Davis said. “A lot of parents like that.”But a handful of parents — particularly those with special-needs children — think Mulberry's reward system should be reconsidered, according to a thread on the parent and teacher association's Facebook page. It's too exclusive, said Elizabeth Newman, one of the vocal parents, and it invades students' privacy.Newman, the mother of a special education student, said it draws attention to the children who didn't make the grade, as well as those who can't.“It's awesome those kids test well, but not everyone can,” she said, adding her daughter, who suffers mental and physical disabilities, works just as hard in school as the other students. “I don't want to take the reward away from every kid, but there should be a way to include the special education population.”Newman said her family has struggled through the “free dress” period before, and they aren't looking forward to doing it again.“She would come home and cry,” Newman recalled. “She would say, ‘So and so had on jeans. Why can't I wear that?' ”Newman said it was difficult to explain to her daughter, who is now 11, why she couldn't participate.“They already feel different. They don't need help,” Newman said. “They need help feeling like they're just like everybody else.”It's also a privacy concern, she added. “We don't put their report cards on them,” she said. “But if you drive up to school, you can see what kids tested Mastery and what kids didn't.”Newman said she has voiced her concerns to School Board officials in the past, but she was told nothing could be done.Davis said she has not received any phone calls about the issue, but she encouraged parents to contact her or the school's principal if they have concerns. She said that's a better solution than turning to Facebook.Principal Gwen Ferguson couldn't be reached for comment.